State Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Thursday announced that, in order to avoid a lawsuit, seven additional chains committed to eliminate no-poach practices nationwide, removing them from franchise contracts.

The seven chains have more than 500 locations in Washington and more than 15,000 locations nationwide.

Budget Blinds, GNC, Jack in the Box, Jackson Hewitt, Jiffy Lube, Menchie’s and The Original Pancake House signed Worker protection initiative logolegally binding commitments to stop adding no-poach clauses to franchise contracts, and remove all existing clauses. All seven must make these changes nationwide. The seven join 39 other corporations that have now signed legally enforceable agreements with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office to end the practice.

No-poach clauses appear in franchise agreements between owners of franchises and corporate headquarters. The clauses prohibit employees from moving among stores in the same corporate chain, a practice that economists believe stagnates wages. For example, the clauses would prohibit one GNC employee from accepting employment from another GNC franchise location for higher pay.

With the announcement, Ferguson moves closer to his goal of eliminating no-poach clauses nationwide. So far, Ferguson has filed one lawsuit against restaurant chain Jersey Mike’s for refusing to end these practices.

“With today’s announcement, we have corrected a system rigged against workers at more than 100,000 corporate stores nationwide,” Ferguson said. “We are one step closer to my goal of eliminating no-poach clauses nationwide.”